


Family Has to Stick Together

by Shatterpath



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Carol (2015), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Danger, F/F, F/M, Families of Choice, Gen, Halloween Challenge, Mild Gore, Multi, Polyamory, Polyfidelity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 08:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8439340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: When the world as they know it ends, family has to stick together.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Comicbooklovergreen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comicbooklovergreen/gifts).



> So, I honestly don't remember how this even got started, as I'm usually a dedicated fluffy writer, but here we are, in a zombie apocalypse. O.o The combined family of Stegginelli and Belivaird is something me and some pals dearly love, even if my use of them was a bit... unorthodox. 
> 
> I admit that I've been fighting with this story since summer when I started it as a gift for a friend. I'm not pleased with the second half, but it will suffice for now. My hope is to do a second chapter which will be closer to how I originally envisioned this. Until then, Happy Halloween!

It happened suddenly.

Random outbreaks of violence that reminded Peggy uncomfortably of the Midnight Oil, left behind bodies that proved disinclined to rest in peace. But science never had a chance to even begin to guess what had happened, much less do a damn thing about it.

It spared no one.

Except Steve. No matter how the empty-eyed SSR agents bit and clawed at him, there was no change in him save a surlier and surlier temper.

Thankfully, it turned out those in intimate contact with him were immune as well. A fact they discovered halfway home when a particularly ugly skirmish resulted in Peggy nearly getting her throat torn out. But her blood stayed a healthy red and her eyes their warm, alert brown.

"Who knew being your lover held such benefits," she snarked as they caught their breath and stole a few bracing kisses.

"Let's get the hell home and make sure I can save the rest of the family then, huh?"

Neither of them could articulate the terror that clawed at their throats worse than the zombies. Was Angie well? Was the baby? Were their dear friends? Was the unborn child? The one fathered by Steve?

By the time they reached the towering skyscraper that contained home, they were frantic. So far they had seen no other survivors, just the shambling former people who reached for them hungrily. They were thankfully slow and clumsy, but they were endless. Never in their lives had the couple been so terribly aware of just how many human beings were on the island of Manhattan. They bashed and fought and clawed their way up the stairwells until they were clambering over the reaching piles of bodies. 

Their penthouse floor was mercifully quiet. Almost eerily so. Peggy was so tired and sore that she felt as though she might turn into one of the monsters, despite her immunity to whatever this plague was. Panting and bleary-eyed, she was more than willing to hang back at Steve's military hand gesture. When he passed through their doorway with no pause to open said door, Peggy choked down a distressed moan. If there were any mercy in the universe, please let them be alive and well somehow…

There was some banging and crashing before Steve reappeared to gesture Peggy to him. The look on his face was so intense it was almost frightening, but he had clearly not given up. 

"There's no sign of them, good or bad," he whispered and she was nearly faint with relief. Adrenaline and sheer will revitalized her and the duo once more moved as quiet as cats to the next doorway.

It was sealed and showed no signs of directed violence. While Steve skulked forward to peek around the nearby corner, Peggy tapped softly at the thick wood.

Tap. Tap-tap-a-tap-tap.

She waited with her heart in her chest, throbbing with worry, pain and what she suspected was her body fighting whatever the horrific pathogen was. She tapped again, dying for a response. The wait seemed interminable and when there was a scratch of sound, it was sweet music.

Tap-tap.

Sobbing in relief, Peggy pressed her hand and forehead to the wood, Steve echoing the movement where he was so warm and large at her back. The muffled sounds of a large object being pushed on the other side almost covered up the shuffling approach of some of the victims, Peggy and Steve trapped out in the open of the hallway. When at last the door clicked open, they slipped in, hearts pounding and Steve instantly used his massive strength to once again barricade the door.

Peggy might not ever let Angie go.

"We're all right," she murmured over and over again, letting the words sink in to her traumatized mind as much as much as the blissful weight of Angie pressed fully to her.

"I was hopin' when nothing seemed to happen to me and Therese that it meant that Steve made us all immune."

Both warriors froze at the name distinctly missing from that sentence.

"She locked herself in the bedroom and it's been mostly quiet since."

"Stay," Steve instructed them and pressed a quick kiss to Angie's forehead before bracing himself and letting the gore-splashed shield lead the way. The bedroom door splintered as he rammed it and he vanished into the dimness beyond. While Peggy and Angie waited with baited breath, there were a few grunts and the dull clang of the shield. A quiet fell and Steve made a small pained noise and Carol's voice groaned in pain.

Long minutes passed in a deathly silence broken only by harsh breathing and the litany of small moans from the dark mouth of the doorway. Then there was the shuffle of clothed bodies and the incongruous sound of running water. When Steve reappeared with Carol scruffed in his big hand like a drugged cat, they were half relieved and half worried.

"I think we're okay. The blood was given up voluntarily."

There were crimson drops on Carol's normally pristine shirt and smeared across one cheek, making his mates stared, owl-eyed.

"You'd best get Therese and we can make a plan. I'll keep an eye out on Carol."

It was no easy task for Peggy to give up her death grip on Angie, but the grounding effect of a concrete task gave her strength.

"She was sorta trapped halfway between," Steve whispered as Peggy approached. "And made no move to attack me, though she could track me even in the darkness. So I took a wild guess and slashed my arm and got my blood in her mouth. It was a little…"

"Macabre?" Peggy guessed by his expression. "If she were partially changed, I'm guessing there was a certain amount of… relish involved in the sharing?"

He shuddered. "Yeah, you could say that. I pinned her down under the shield so she couldn't bite at me, but then she didn't like it real quick, which I take as a good sign. And look, her eyes have gone back to a nice, normal blue."

By the window to catch the last few rays of evening sun, Peggy could see that Carol's gaze was indeed familiar, if not a little distant. "She looks almost drugged."

"Hopefully that'll pass. We'll keep her a bit isolated until we're sure."

"Therese won't like that."

"I know."

The small, indistinct shapes of the rest of the family appeared and Peggy went to them. Therese looked shell-shocked, her gaze riveted on her love. Baby Sara was cozily nestled into her auntie's chest above the swell of the child to come. Therese may not be his, but she was his friend and he'd been happy to donate. Even as the embarrassment had never completely faded; for either of them.

When a little face peered around Therese's back, Steve startled. "Christ, Rindy. I forgot you were here. You okay, honey?"

Her gaze was riveted on her unresponsive mother, torn between need and terror.

"Give it a bit," Steve said gently. "To make sure the serum did its job. I can't bleed enough to save all of New York, but I'll be damned if I can't save my family. All of you."

Angie made her way to the kitchen in the near-blackness with the ease of familiarity, and ran water over towels she felt out with blind fingers. "Pegs, you need to get in the shower and clean out those wounds with what's left of the hot water. Here, big guy. Terry, you sit with me and Sara over here. Nothin' to be done tonight but wait for morning."

Steve nodded and gratefully accepted the towels she held out to him. "Agreed. We have no idea what these zombies are capable of, so we just sit tight, quiet and dark for the night. Then we gather supplies and get a move on. Rindy, honey, did you ever feel sick like your mama here?"

He could just barely make out her headshake where she remained glued to Therese's side on the smaller couch.

"That's good. See, I think the special thing in my blood made it so that none of us could become one of the scary people. Remember last summer when you tripped and we bonked heads? Both of us were a mess, with bloody noses and that cut on your lip? I remember because we both cried. So I think you got some of the special stuff in my blood, but your mom here has never really had that. Until today, that is. And it seems to be working to bring her back to normal, but we have to be patient, k?"

Reluctantly, the little girl nodded and burrowed more tightly into Therese, who had yet to speak a single word.

"Rindy," Carol mumbled and they all froze, even a normal tone of voice seemed deafening in the quiet. "Therese?"

"Here," Therese said hoarsely. "Steve's with you, sweetheart. Just rest now. You've been sick and we'll be close by, but over here for safety."

When Sara grew fussy, Angie retreated to hole up in the big closet in Carol and Therese's bedroom to muffle the sound. That gave Peggy a scare, but she went to them after kissing Steve sweetly. "Try to get some sleep, darling. We're back on war watch now and need all that we can get."

It was a quiet, fitful night for the mixed family, broken by odd sounds and the occasional random scream from the city beyond. Carol remained quiet under the thick arm Steve had slung around her neck and torso, pressing her into his ribs and away from his throat. Just in case. Rindy echoed the pose against Therese while Peggy and Angie sweltered in the closet with the baby.

Morning brought a surprised sound from Carol that woke everyone else with a jerk. "Steve. Thank god you made it home. What happened?"

Peggy's voice drew all eyes where she had stepped into the room. "It was some sort of aerosol, I believe. And if I'm right, there will be few people not exposed to the pathogen. As for knowledge on the hows and whys, we'll need better scientific minds than ours. If any are left."

She looked rough, exhausted and hurting, but in a completely human way. Some bits of torn clothing had been used as bandages, the spots of blood on the fabric a reassuring, bright red. With an intent look, she strode over and leaned in to practically press her nose into Carol's. The older woman shrank back, instantly reassuring her companions.

"And while you may be a walking cure, darling, listen."

After a moment of silence, they realized what Peggy meant. The city beyond, the great, bustling metropolis that was New York City… was eerily quiet.

"I peeked outside and there's very little movement. What… zombies I saw, were larger, more robust specimens. My guess is that the infected aren't very hardy."

"And it's startin' ta smell," Angie added as she joined them, Sara swaddled snug to her chest. "That means sickness and the youngsters-- and that includes your bun there, Terry-- are going to be vulnerable."

"What's the plan, boss?"

With Steve's comment, they all focused back on Peggy, who frowned in thought for a moment. "Right then. Steve, I need you to get next door and look for any of Howard's toys. If he survived the night, he too is invulnerable to whatever this is, for there is no way he was not at least minorly exposed to the serum. As obnoxious a wanker as the man can be, he's family and he's brilliant."

"And has great toys," Angie chimed in irreverently, but her heart really wasn't in it.

"If he cannot provide some sort of escape, then we are losing daylight. We head for the river and steal a boat. Carol, you come with me, the rest of you go pack. Sturdy fabrics and layers; take only what you can carry. Keep your chin up, darlings, we'll get through this somehow."

As Steve prepared to move out, Peggy stopped him, arching up for a quick, loving kiss. 

"Be sure to grab our old war gear, darling. And all the baby formula we have. Be careful, this is no time for heroics, you've a pride of lionesses and cubs to think of now."

"Yes ma'am," he whispered and went to wordlessly nuzzle Angie and Sara and affectionately run a hand over Rindy and Therese's heads. With a deep breath he was out the window and shimmying along the narrow ledge out of sight.

"Auntie Angie?" Rindy said timidly in the quiet left behind as her mother and Peggy vanished into the master bedroom. "I'm hungry."

It took a moment for Angie to respond, blinking back from wherever her mind had wandered off to. "Yeah, sure Kitten. Terry?"

But Therese only looked ill, standing abruptly to waddle urgently towards the bathroom.

"Rindy, you stay here with me and Sara, okay? Come help me stir eggs, you're good at that."

For a spell, things seemed like a normal morning, the scent of breakfast cooking, clothing being sorted for the day, Therese fighting morning sickness. If they could even momentarily forget the disturbing silence outside and the weight of panic at the edges of their perceptions.

Peggy joined her loved ones and warily watched Carol hug Rindy to her belly, stroking the girl's disheveled hair. There was something about the blonde woman that was still off, something fundamentally altered, but her touch was as gentle as loving as always.

"Are they all gone, Pegs?"

Angie sounded small and sad, with a weary terror that settled into her bones. As much as Peggy would have sold her own soul to change this impossible twist of fate to befall this great city, she could only cradle lover and child in her strong arms and impotently wish.

\----

When salvation came, it was with a thrum of rotor blades and a spray of high-powered bullets. The trio of zombies on the forty-second floor were still twitching when Steve burst from his apartment to be faced with Howard Stark in all his mad scientist glory.

"Steve!"

For a guy only marginally exposed to the super serum, Howard clung to the larger man with suffocating strength, his breathing fast and panicked.

"We have to get out of here, now."

Inside of ten minutes, the mingled families had packed up all they could carry and made for the roof. There they were met by a stone-faced Ana and Edwin Jarvis and a dozen more zombies chopped down by heavy gunfire. The helicopter-- a nightmarish contraption that would have put off most of them had they not been trapped in a zombie apocalypse-- swayed and struggled with its load, but held. The stinking streets of the Big Apple fell away below them, still as death except for the slow shamble of the few undead survivors.

Would they ever know what exactly had happened? What terrible calamity had drifted in with the wind to destroy millions of souls?

The helicopter had been stripped down to its bare bones and the wind bit at them through the half-open sides. Peggy and Steve huddled around Angie to keep Sara warm while the other three huddled together against Steve's broad back. Even over the thwup-thwup of the rotor blades, screams could be heard here and there, making the survivors flinch and cower, bellies roiling in horror. There was no avoiding the bursts of sound, the random, shuffling movement of the walking undead, what with how low Howard was flying. In fact, he was skimming so close to rooftops and trees that even the war-hardened veterans were flinching. 

"Howard!" Peggy finally had to yell, her voice nearly shrill with stress. "This is no time to showboat!"

Uncharacteristically, Howard ignored her utterly, the helicopter swooping low as the city proper at last began to fall away. At rate they were moving, they would be in Yonkers before long.

"Not showboating," Edwin said tightly where he retained his white-knuckled grip on the machine gun, eyes wild. "We heard word that the military was mobilizing and fear they will arrive at any moment. I suspect the response to this calamity will not be a benign one."

Silence once more fell over the survivors.

They traced the Hudson north until it was little more than trees and water with scattered hamlets about. Eventually, the helicopter banked and looped down to a cluster of blue roofs around a massive courtyard, the land around it choked with thick forest and the river very close by. The helicopter settled with a bump in the courtyard and the whine of the rotors faded away, blissful silence greeting them. A silence that was broken by Peggy's voice, startling the others.

"I must say, Howard, that I have never been quite so thankful for your excesses."

"You all stay here," Steve ordered brusquely. "Peggy and I will check to see if we're safe."

Wordlessly, Howard handed over a machine gun and ammo to Peggy before pulling out his own rifle. They others stared with wide-traumatized gazes, nonetheless impressed with the effortless, deadly grace of the warriors as they vanished into the house. They waited a long time in the pleasant quiet of a country day where the quiet was not unnatural and hummed with the wild around them. Eventually they returned, looking as relaxed as the circumstances would allow.

"No survivors," Peggy informed them curtly. "The bodies have been removed and the exterior locked down. I believe my paranoia is warranted that we should reinforce the windows and doors before nightfall. Just in case."

"C'mon Kitten," Steve coaxed and held out big hands for Rindy to climb into his embrace. She hesitated, but went when her mothers coaxed her gently with gentle touches. Without missing a beat, Steve swept Therese up into his other arm. "Let's get you two and the baby settled somewhere quiet to rest, then I'll wash up."

There would be no return to normalcy for any of them, no hint of familiarity for a very long time, except for one another. As the group trailed after Steve and his charges, they trembled with all they had been through, but they knew that somehow they would all survive so long as they were together.


End file.
